A King County man, once sought in what investigators initially believed was an accidental hit-and-run, is now charged with intentionally killing a woman in a Bellevue parking lot in addition to striking two other pedestrians later the same day.
Prosecutors said 68-year-old Mark Alexander Adams has a history of troubling behavior, including a protection order for allegedly threatening his elderly mother and her husband with a knife, and a past escape from a state mental health facility in Pierce County.
Bellevue parking lot death now considered intentional homicide
Authorities said the case began last Saturday when a driver struck and killed an elderly woman in the parking lot of a Bellevue YMCA, where police said Adams is a member. Investigators now said Adams intentionally drove his Toyota Camry into 88-year-old Shinko Oshino after fleeing the scene.
Court documents said surveillance cameras, along with footage from a parked Tesla, show the car lining up with Oshino before accelerating and striking her. Firefighters were unable to save Oshino, and she died at the scene.
“These are really stunning allegations, and that’s why we got to go to court with such a high bail request,” explained King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office Spokesperson Casey McNerthney after Adams was held on $5 million bail. “There are a lot of people affected by this, not only the police officers who have responded to this, and that’s traumatizing for them, but certainly the family.”
Police link Tacoma hit-and-run crashes to same suspect
Police said the same Toyota Camry later turned up in two hit-and-run crashes in Tacoma later that day. In one case, investigators found the driver followed a man riding a skateboard, matching his speed, before striking him as he tried to move out of the roadway.
Surveillance video from a second incident shows the car circling a gas station before speeding toward pedestrians, hitting one man who flew onto the hood and windshield. Police said the driver then reversed toward the victim as he lay on the ground, but the man rolled out of the way. He survived with a spinal fracture.
“The victim flew over the hood and windshield, landing on the ground. The suspect vehicle then reversed towards the victim while he was on the ground. The victim suffered a spinal fracture injury; the injuries of the other victim are unknown,” a Bellevue Police Department detective said in court documents. “I applied for and obtained an order for real-time location data of Mark’s last known cellular device number based on the ongoing and continual threat to the community.”
When officers arrested Adams in Port Townsend, court documents say he asked whether police from Bellevue or Tacoma were there to pick him up.
“A JCSO deputy located the suspect’s vehicle at a residence in the 800 block of McPherson Street,” a Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputy said on social media. “Officers established a perimeter around the residence and attempted to make contact. At approximately 9:30 a.m., the suspect exited the residence and was taken into custody without incident.”
Court records describe history of threats and violence
Court records also show Adams still has an active protection order in King County, accusing him of stalking and threatening his elderly mother and her husband with a knife and attacking his sister.
In the petition to renew the protective order, Adams’ sister stated that in 2024, she was in the living room of their family home when she heard a loud bang and went to check on her brother.
“I noticed that Mark had thrown his tablet against the closet door, which left a dent in it,” she said before she described how he became threatening. “He was screaming, ‘you f****** b****, you don’t understand, I’m going to kill you b****. Go ahead and call 911. I will kill you or myself first.’”
The petition said Adams was involuntarily committed to Fairfax Behavioral Health in Kirkland but was released some three weeks later.
Adams’ sister described other incidents in the petition, including a time in 2021 when Adams allegedly grabbed a kitchen knife, held it up to his sister’s throat, and threatened to kill her and her husband. She also claimed that, after she’d broken her nose and her arm in seven places and undergone surgery for repairs, Adams picked her up and threw her into a flowerbed near their front door.
The documents also accused Adams of drinking alcohol excessively and having considerable mental health issues, but refused to address them.
In 2016, Adams escaped from Western State through a loose window. He had been committed after being found not competent to stand trial for a 2014 domestic assault case in Snohomish County. He was caught the next day and eventually released from the mental hospital.
Adams, now charged with 1st degree murder and felony hit and run, is being held on $5 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday.
During that arraignment, defense attorneys could claim, again, that Adams is not competent to stand trial. The process, if that happened, could stretch months and years before any trial might take place.
McNerthney explained the process, telling KIRO Newsradio that when a King County judge orders a competency evaluation, the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services conducts it — usually in the jail — to determine whether a defendant understands the charges against them and can assist in their own defense.
If the evaluator finds a defendant competent, the case moves forward.
If the defendant is found incompetent, the court can order competency restoration, which is a treatment process that often takes place at facilities such as Western State Hospital. That restoration process, which can involve drug therapy, can take months, during which the criminal case is paused, but not dismissed. Courts periodically review the case to determine whether treatment has restored the defendant’s competency so the trial can proceed.
If competency cannot be restored after multiple treatment periods, the court can order a civil commitment evaluation, which could lead to long-term mental health commitment at a state facility through a separate legal process.
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